Motion detection is useful for providing intelligent lighting and/or security within, for example, a building. The motion detection can be used to determine whether an occupant is present, and therefore, only provide lighting when an occupant is present. However, false positives in detection can waste energy or incorrectly assume security of the building has been breached. Additionally, if a single technology is used for the motion detection, problems can arise if for some reason the single technology is disabled.
One type of dual-technology sensor includes an ultrasonic motion sensor combined with a passive infrared (PIR) sensor. The dual-technology approach can reduce false-positives due to the redundancy (multiple sensor types) included within the detection. However, ultrasonic technologies can be triggered by motion of inanimate objects (such as, motion of a printer) and PIR sensor can be rendered near useless when exposed to large amounts of IR due to a warm object or sun light coming in through a window of the building.
It is desirable to have a method, system and apparatus for sensing occupancy that does not have the limitations of existing dual technology motion sensors.